danish holiday act rant
It’s been a while, so let’s start with a good rant about the danish holiday act.
Facts:
- I started working in Denmark April 1st 2007
- My contract clearly states I get 25 paid holidays per year
My issue:
Up til May 2009 I have only been able to take 18.75 paid holidays instead of 52 (2*25, plus 2 from April 2007).
Why:
Well, the accountant says: you get 2.08 days for each month you work. In 2007 I worked 9 months (2.08 * 9 = 18.75). But, the danish holiday year runs from May to May. Fine, you’d think the calculation shifts a bit, so that from May 2007 til May 2008 you’d get the 18.75 days. But noooo, you apparently don’t get the 18.75 days until May 2008 til May 2009, and not until May 2009 to 2010 you get the full 25!
Now, my company says that I can just take the other days unpaid. But that’s a lot of money we’re cutting here. If you take a week off, that means 25% less salary that month, which resolves in that I can’t pay my rent. So because I can’t afford financially to take these days off, the whole “25 paid holidays” is just a big myth the first 2 years. Companies can’t state in their contracts that you get those holidays, because that just means plain lying!
Disclaimer:
I know that you American friends must be happy if you only get 10 days, but that’s up to you to rant about 
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:58 pm
What’s a vacation? Is that like a day where you don’t work? Seriously I am pretty ranty about this topic myself. The whole notion that for your first year you MUST work everyday unless you are sick is pretty strange for such a socialist country. What happens with 19 year olds their first year of work? They just don’t get paid for days off.
After the first year its okay for them because they have a balance but dang. Waiting a year to claim some vacation time sucks. Seriously.
March 3rd, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I couldn’t agree more. Even if it’s strictly legal for companies to state in the contracts that the 25 days paid leave are ‘in accordance with the Danish holiday act in force’, they should explain to foreigners who are coming to work in Denmark how the system works. At least then it wouldn’t be such a nasty shock. And check this out, from workindenmark.dk, a Danish government site to attract foreign workers. Under their ‘Holidays and holiday pay’ section, they say:
‘All workers in Denmark are entitled to five weeks’ holiday during every “holiday year”. The holiday year runs from 1 May – 30 April’
Nothing about the two-year trap. Grrrrr!
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:41 pm
I’m basically paying my holidays from the project grant that I brought in when I starte work. First year, 6 days (holiday year runs March-March here, 2 days/month) to spend. I won’t lose a thing of course, only at the end of my project I’ll have a heap of holidays I could have used when I was moving in and such at the start. So, I’ll get those remaining holidays compensated in pay. Which means I have to save project money for that. Warped.
It wouldn’t be hard at all to keep a constant count of holiday saldo. Work a month, you have two in the bank, spend them when you like. No risk of spending what you don’t have and no risk of workers caving in.
In an economy where work is increasingly project based, it’s remarkable that the holiday system only accomodates the permanent staff. A waste of energy and money..
Hey, thanks for the rant! I feel much better now!
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:10 pm
The Danish Holiday act is basically a system which worked fine in a world where everybody joined a company in their youth and stayed there until they retired… in a world where people switch jobs and where our economy is dependent on skilled resources from other countries, the Danish Holiday act is completely fucked up.
It is a hassle to foreigners, but it is also a significant annoyance for us resident Danes when we switch jobs. The consequences of switching to another job is that you get your holiday money paid out in a lump sum, which means that you are taxed heavily the following year (because of the top tax). Of course, the next year, when you are paying for your own vacation, you earn less money which means that you get the tax money back again two years after you actually switched jobs. Pretty lame as well and always a cause of confusion for people who do not expect the extra tax payment!!!
March 17th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
And you still haven’t joined a vakbond?
June 4th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
This law does suck for somebody taking their first job ever, or for those who have to switch jobs.
But, if you move to Denmark then at least you should research the laws that apply to your employment and at the very least those laws that are specified in your contract. There’s little use in complaining if you haven’t done your research.
Bunch of moaning minnies.